Todd Haynes' latest, Carol, is an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price Of Salt and it's gathering a mighty assembly of actresses. Rooney Mara is the latest to sign up, stepping up to replace Mia Wasikowska and join Cate Blanchett in the 1950s-set lesbian love story.

Carol is Haynes' first film since 2007's I'm Not There, but he's clearly kept his ears to the ground for up-and-coming talent. “We're over the moon to have Rooney on board," he said in a statement. "I've been a tremendous admirer of her work from the beginning, so the thought of bringing her together with Cate onscreen is thrilling to say the least.”

"It's a testament to Todd Haynes as a director and the quality of the script that we have managed to attract this exciting calibre of actor," added Number 9 Films' Elizabeth Karlsen, who is producing with official Empire hero Stephen Woolley.

That script, adapted by Phyllis Nagy, is set in '50s New York and revolves around a girl in her 20s slogging through a job in a department store (Mara) and a wife trapped in a loveless, unfulfilling, but wealthy marriage (Blanchett). Echoes of Haynes' terrific Douglas Sirk homage Far From Heaven in theme, if not setting.

Shooting on Carol is scheduled to start in spring 2014. The Weinstein Company picked up US distribution rights at Cannes this year, so expect to hear plenty more about it.